People suffer for all sorts of reasons, often due to either personal limitations or sinful actions. The writer of Psalm 107 points to suffering in the desert and on the high seas, in sickness and in prisons.

Even when people’s rebelliousness brings suffering, despite shaking fists and bitter curses, the Lord does not stay angry. In each instance the psalmist records:

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.

The most defiant sinner, when in trouble and close to death, can turn to the Lord. The act of humbly crying out for salvation catches God’s attention.

I easily drift toward a view of God as punisher. But here I see the Lord’s compassion. God does not stay angry forever. He wants none to perish but all to follow him—even the most rebellious. Even you and me in our rebellion.

When in trouble, cry out to the Lord in earnestness and humility, especially if you brought the trouble on yourself. The Lord may fix your problem, or more likely the Lord will leave your problem and begin to fix you.

Psalm 107 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Ahmed M Elpahwee